During Mass, the rain started coming down. We had a 50 gallon drum at one of the corners of the pavilion where we added the gutters. It filled in no time. During one of the breaks in rain, Dad and I grabbed three new 26 gallon trashcans and put them at the other corners of the pavilion. They were overflowing by the time we left.

There’s one guy at Jacob’s Ladder who is always yelling, “Where’s the bus at? Where!? Where?!” He says it over and over all day long. We all joked about it some, and asked the staff if he could get on the bus with us when it came.  When it pulled up, Dad walked him to the bus and he climbed up and sat down. As soon as he sat down, he stopped talking and just started smiling. It took a little bit of convincing to get him off the bus, but he seemed happy.

On the way to dinner, which was a long trip, we stopped at a roadside fruit stand. They asked if anyone wanted a coconut jelly. I couldn’t pass up the chance to try it, so I hopped out of the bus with Dad, Andrew, and John Paul. A guy with a big machete picked up a coconut and chopped off the top. I drank the milk and handed the shell back to the man with the machete. He chopped it in half and cut off a chunk of the shell. I used the chunk to scrape the jelly out of the shell. When the jelly dries, it forms what we normally think of as coconut. We continued to dinner but made a pit stop for the guys that drank the coconut milk. There wasn’t a bathroom anywhere around, so we watered the beach in a remote location.

Dinner was at a restaurant that was on the street. They just set up tables on the street until the road closes off. There was no indoor seating.  Dinner was at a seafood restaurant. Since fish tends to make me sick, they got some chicken for me from a nearby restaurant. Everyone had some Red Stripe beer that was brewed there in Kingston. The second round of beer was Heineken, which was brewed at the same place as the Red Stripe.

We’re now back at Sophie’s Place for the night. We’ll be flying home tomorrow.

Today we started and finished the railing on the stairs we built yesterday. After that, we cleaned up. We’re going to have Mass in the pavilion. The priest who concelebrated at St. Pius X on Sunday will be here. After we prayed the rosary this morning, Mark thanked us all for what we did. Then he went around and shook everyone’s hand saying, “Thank you.” When he got to Chris, Chris asked him if he could stay. Without missing a beat, Mark said, “No. Thank you.” And continued around the circle shaking hands.

I forgot to write yesterday. When I got off the phone with Michelle, I went straight to bed. everyone else was already asleep, and the lights were off. Yesterday, we hung gutters on the longs sides of the pavilion that’s already up. God brought a little bit of rain to test them… they worked great. They’ll be able to catch a good amount of rain water to use around the area. They probably won’t have running water for a couple more months. After the gutters, I helped put a railing around a balcony.

So far today we constructed some stairs in one of the bunk houses. As of now, all of the two story buildings have stairs on the outside. We cut out a portion of the upstairs floor to put the stairs inside. This will be helpful during the rainy season so the care takers can stay upstairs and come down when needed.

Fr. Gregory came to visit us today. He founded the Mustard Seed Communities. It was great to hear his vision for MSC. He made me think of Mother Theresa and the great things she did.

I can’t leave here without talking about Mark. Mark is one of the residents here. He doesn’t have any physical disabilities, but seems to have a very short memory. It’s not uncommon for him to ask the same question several times in a short period. He introduces himself to us everyday as if we’ve never met. He’s one of the most innocent people I’ve ever met. He helps out the staff here doing whatever they ask of him. He’s just always so happy, as is everyone who lives here. Mark just kind of wanders around helping where he can. He says goodnight to us before he goes to bed. When he goes to bed, he locks himself in his house like the others are locked in, even though he knows how to unlock it. He seems so happy, but not has happy as Stefan. Stefan, another resident here, loves to run. He’s not supposed to just run around, especially when we’re out working with power tools, but at least once a day he escapes from the staff and just runs, waving his arms in the air and pumping his fists like Rocky. They eventually catch him and bring him back to his cottage, but he’s not sad that he was caught. He’s just happy that he was able to run.

To think that MSC got some of these people from insane asylums and cages is just heartbreaking. Some of the children had been kept naked in cages. They would throw their food on the ground, and hose them off when they were dirty. One girl had been found tied up in a chicken coop. When they took her to the hospital, they found 10 maggots in her head. Another boy was found tied up in a pig pen. Many of the children are abandoned at birth when they’re found to be disabled.

We worked on the windows all day yesterday. They’re not so much “windows” as they are shutters. . There’s no glass, and really no need for it. They’re just shutters that they can close and lock.

At prayers and discussion last night we were asked how God has called us. I talked with jack about my experience, and then shared it with the group. I didn’t realize it until then that God sent me to police work. For so long I thought God wanted me to be a priest. I asked Him, “What else can I do?” I knew I felt called to be a cop, but I didn’t know until last night that I was being called by God.

Today, we finished the windows and made some doors as well. the other groups made great progress as well. They’re building a new pavilion for the children to use. Tomorrow we’ll be putting gutters on the roof of the existing pavilion so they can catch rain water. There’s not really any running water here. All of the water is brought in by a tanker truck, and is put in tanks on the roofs. Gravity brings the water into the sinks, toilets, and showers. The showers don’t really “flow,” they dribble. It’s expensive to bring in water too, so being able to harvest the rain water will help.